AACC AGM - Skate NSW

2013
AACC AGM
ROLLER SPORTS AUSTRALIA Inc
ACCREDITED ARTISTIC COACHES’ COMMITTEE
44c Wolya Way Westminster 6061
AACC AGM Agenda 2013
VENUE:
Skate International Malaga.
7.00pm Saturday September 28th 2013
1.
Open Meeting.
2.
Roll Call.
3.
Apologies.
4.
Minutes of the 2012 A.G.M. (Attached)
5.
Business arising
6.
Chairman’s report (Attached)
7.
Queensland report (attached)
8.
New South Wales report (attached)
9.
South Australian report (Attached)
10.
Victorian report (Attached)
11.
Western Australian report (Attached).
12.
High Performance report (attached)
13.
New Accreditation courses.
14.
Oceania’s 2013 / 2014
15.
Nationals 2013
16.
Worlds 2013 - Taiwan
17.
General business
18.
Next AGM
19.
Close of meeting.
Please note:
Reports and minutes of last year have been reformatted to fit in this
document. No text has been changed in this process
SKATE AUSTRALIA Inc
ACCREDITED ARTISTIC COACHES’
COMMITTEE
44c Wolya Way Westminster 6061
11th August 2012
MINUTES OF THE 2011 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE ACCREDITED
ARTISTIC COACHES’ COMMITTEE HELD AT “Whitlam Leisure Centre”,
Memorial Avenue Liverpool on Sunday 1st July 2012.
1.
OPENING
Having established there was a quorum and that all coaches who intended to attend
were present, the Chairman, Barry Andrews opened the meeting, at 6:19 pm.
2/3. ROLL CALL & INTRODUCTION
Members and visitors present signed the attendance roll. Those present were also
asked to tender any apologies.
The attendance record indicates the following:
PRESENT
Debbie Kokonis
Rachel Tonkin
Bryan Lloyd Jones
Anita Lloyd Jones
Tamera Russell
Marie White
Barry Andrews
Teresa Chittick
John Lane
Debbie Simms
Kathleen McPhail
Gawaine Davis
Ebony Cassady
Paul Fraumano
Tony Millett
Christine Turner
Wendy Lane
Visitors
Jackie Blythe
Rachael Sketcher
Bianca Burow
Bill Foster
Shenae Kealley
Samantha Russell
Ron Martinez
Jodie Garufo
Vanessa Butson
Andrew Simms
Kerrie Curtis
Brian Inglis
Susan Brooks
Brad Fraumano
Shelley Haughey
Madanna O’Brien
Shane Haylock
Aaron Sprigg
Apologies
Charmaine Bond
Alan Wehlow
Christine Keogh
Esther Ambrus
Luke Kelly
Courtney McManus
Gordon Homes
Michele Wollens
Margaret Clough
Danae Clark
Skye McManus
Total attendance of 33 members (Quorum of 10 met). 2 Visitors recorded others
attended who were not signed in.
The Chairman thanked everybody for attendance at the meeting, and confirmed the
legality of the meeting. The chairman thanked all the coaches who had made an
effort to come to this meeting, their participation was most welcome. All attendees
reminded to sign the attendance sheet and to enter any apologies.
4.
MINUTES OF THE 2011 AACC AGM HELD IN SA
It was moved Kathleen McPhail, seconded John Lane.
That the minutes of the 2011 Annual General Meeting of AACC, as distributed, be
confirmed as a true and correct record of the meeting.
5.
BUSINESS ARISING
13.0
Requirements committee has changed order of loop figure in Intermediate to match
Oceania Youth event.
Inner Back loop has been added into the schedule for Intermediate for each year, also
raised at Oceania level and changed there.
14.0
Penalty for falls is now 0.2 as per CIPA requirements.
Requirements for Tiny Tot, Primary and Juvenile Freeskating have been clarified and
simplified by requirements committee in conjunction with AACC.
Vocal music will be permitted in competition for Tiny Tot and Juvenile grades from
2013.
6.
PRESENTATION OF CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
It was moved Barry Andrews, seconded Susan Brooks
That the Chairman’s report as circulated with the agenda be taken as read and
received.
Chairman advised meeting that the courses for Development, Intermediate and
Advanced were now approved by the ASC with Elite still being processed. As of
August 2012 all updates would be to the equivalent level in the new structure.
Chairman thanked Aaron, Jackie and all those involved in getting the course to
completion.
7.
NEW SOUTH WALES AACC REPORT
It was moved Kerrie Curtis, seconded Gawaine Davis
That the NSW report as written by Kerrie Curtis and circulated with the agenda be
taken as read and received.
Since the writing of the report there had been two new accredited coaches in NSW,
Nicole Wilkes and Chris Stuart.
8.
QUEENSLAND AACC REPORT
It was moved John Lane, seconded Jodie Garufo
That the Queensland report as circulated with the agenda be taken as read and
received.
Correction from John, should have said Vanessa Butson in report and not Meagan
Bevan.
9.
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN AACC REPORT
It was moved Marie white on behalf of Sarah Watson who was unable to attend,
seconded Wendy Lane.
That the South Australian report as circulated with the agenda be taken as read and
received.
10. VICTORIA AACC REPORT
It was moved Debbie Kokonis seconded Rachael Sketcher.
That the Victorian report as circulated with the agenda be taken as read and received.
11. WESTERN AUSTRALIA AACC REPORT
It was moved Susan Brooks, seconded Tamera Russell.
That the Western Australian report as circulated with the agenda be taken as read and
received.
Since the time of the report Sue added four new accreditations.
Shenae Kealley Level 1 Dance
Tamera Russell Level 2 figures
Kelly Zaccaria Level 2 Freeskate
Lauren King Level 1 Freeskate.
12. HIGH PERFORMANCE
It was moved Anita Lloyd Jones, seconded Tamera Russell.
That the High Performance report as circulated with the agenda be taken as read and
received.
Chairman thanked Anita for her work and meeting congratulated her on organising of
fitness tests for world team members as part of nationals.
13. OCEANIA’S
There are now 2 grades of Masters for Oceania, matching Australian championships
and hopefully encouraging greater participation at this level.
Next Oceania’s will be at the Whitlam Centre in Sydney in April 2013.
Youth grade now has both IB and OB loops each year.
14. NATIONALS
Figure layout was advised to coaches to ensure they were aware of which panels were
at which end of the floor and to ensure that competition and practice circles were
known.
Figure draws for Junior and Senior Figures were provided for the meeting. These
were advised by the chairman, Junior “A” foot and Senior Group 2 “A”.
Coaches reminded that all compulsory dances must start toward the judges.
Coaches advised that all mp3 files were loaded onto the computer and any changes
need to go to Gawaine Davis or Brett Beatty.
Coaches reminded that any changes to the marshaling area passes must be given to
the chairman well before the events involved to ensure smooth running of this part of
the events. Coaches also reminded there was a two coach maximum limit in the
marshaling area for any one skater.
15. WORLDS 2012
Discussions were held regarding plans for Worlds 2012 in Auckland NZ. Team
meeting will be held at end of the championships. Coaches asked to register their
interest so that team management can ensure passes etc. are able to be organised.
Fitness tests details were also advised to meeting by HP Coach Anita Lloyd Jones.
16. GENERAL BUSINESS
No general business.
18. NEXT MEETING
Will be held in conjunction with 2013 Australian Championships in Perth. Meeting will
be held on the night prior to the commencement of championships.
19. CLOSE
Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and their frank and open discussion
on all matters. The contribution of discussion was very good from all attending and
made for a very fruitful meeting.
Meeting was closed by the Chairman at 7:00 pm
Barry Andrews
AACC CHAIRMAN
SKATE AUSTRALIA Inc.
ACCREDITED ARTISTIC COACHES COMMITTEE
AUSTRALIA
Barry Andrews – 44c Wolya Way Westminster 6061
25th August 2013
Report to AAC and AACC Annual General Meetings 2013
Dear AAC
Our state representatives this year are:
Kerrie Curtis
NSW
John Lane
Queensland
Sarah Watson
South Australia
Debbie Kokonis
Victoria
Bill Foster
Western Australia
Thanks to all of these people for their efforts and also to their support people in each state.
Unfortunately we no longer have Charmaine Bond as the South Australian representative and I would
like to thank her for her contribution to the AACC and welcome Sarah Watson back to the job. Due to
workload Rachel Tonkin has also had to resign from her position in Western Australia and I thank her
for the work she has done and welcome Bill Foster to the position
This section of my report for the past few years has been about how the new accreditation courses are
coming and how I was progressing on their development. This year I am very happy to say we now
have all 4 new courses approved and registered with the ASC. So now the hard work switches over to
the coaches and the states to ensure everyone who needs to coach at nationals on their own is
appropriately accredited as Advanced (Old Level 2). This means that any current level 1 coaches need
to complete their level 2 general principles and either supply Recognition of Current Competency for
Advanced grade or complete the advanced course. This must be done prior to nationals so cut-off date
for accreditations being in is September 1 st 2013 to allow Jackie time to process them.
Mentors must also apply to be registered so that we have a record of approved mentors in every state.
Some states have already done this which is great but we need all registered to ensure growth of our
coaching and retaining of knowledge.
There has been a lot of fore warning regards the new accreditation requirements and it is a little
disappointing to see some people waiting so late before starting on their upgrades.
On a brighter note is was great to be able to have Charmaine Bond as our first registered Elite Coach,
a long overdue recognition of her coaching at the highest levels of our sport. Additionally a number of
other coaches are now finally getting proper recognition as Elite coaches.
I would like to thank the skate Australia office for their assistance in getting these courses through,
particularly Aaron who has chased them up for me when things were dragging along.
Most of the coaches who received grants towards completion of their level 2 general principles have
now completed their general principles and I thank Skate Australia for making these funds available
to ensure every state has examiners at the Elite and Advanced levels.
The assistance of all states and examiners is required to help ensure a smooth transition to the new
levels in 2013 and I thank those who have organised general principles courses and practical courses
in the states. The only way we start to become a more professional sport is to develop our coaching in
a professional manner. The new courses go part the way to allowing this to happen, the major part is
up to the coaches themselves to realise their responsibility for continued development and
improvement.
Now that the paperwork for the Coaching courses are out of the way for the moment I am progressing
on development of a windows based database and calculating application which will hopefully soon
allow us to easily display results live at nationals as the events progress as well as adding many new
features. Thanks to Chris Clough for his input in this development and Lorraine Kealley for being an
early tester of beta code. We successfully tested this alongside Skates at our state championships and
will continue to test through to nationals. However input from all the states is required if we are to
fully thrash this application and ensure it meats all our needs.
I would once again like to thank Kathleen McPhail as the new AAC Chairperson who has been very
supportive of the AACC including support for upgrading examiners and also helping to set up the
www.sk8info.org.au web page which will allow us in future to also post music online on a protected
page to allow coaches and officials access to the necessary dance tunes..
I would also like to thank Jackie from skate Australia for her efforts in processing accreditations. In
most cases the certificates are now issued within 1 week of submitting which is a great turn around.
Finally I would also like to thank the state AAC chairpersons, state Artistic VPs and Pat Wallace
(CAOC) for their assistance to both the coaches and the sport in general.
Regards
Barry Andrews
AACC Chairman
RSA Inc
Accredited Artistic Coaches Committee
Western Australia.
Chairman Barry Andrews
28 Porongurup Drive Clarkson
Tel: (08) 9305 1852 (H) (08) 9244 3011 (W)
Fax: (08) 9244 2629 Mo0417182 186
E mail [email protected]
Queensland Artistic Accredited Coaches Committee
Chairperson: J. Lane
Secretary:
PO Box 231
Southport, 4215
Email: [email protected]
A. Lloyd-Jones
QAACC Report 2013
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Once again we have to say thank you to Barry Andrews for the terrific job that he does each year in keeping the
coaching on track. Without his dedication and diligence, it would be very difficult for many coaches to
maintain their accreditation.
Thanks to the Skate Queensland Artistic Committee for support during the year. QAACC continues to work in
conjunction with the Skate Queensland Artistic Committee in areas of planning and cooperation to assist in the
smooth operation of our State Competitions.
Our coaches are continuing to work very hard at the entry levels and we are beginning to see evidence of this
with the larger numbers of skaters entering the Prep States and State Championships at the entry grades. Novice
Challenge and Elementary league levels of competition are contributing a major number of competitors in
Artistic skating in Queensland
We would like to make special mention for the assistance given by Skate Queensland in subsidizing the
Updating and accreditation courses that were run this year. The courses that were subsidized were the
Intermediate General Principles course, held in May, and in June, the Advanced Accreditation and Intermediate
Accreditation Courses.
Membership and meetings:
Our thanks to Lynn McVie for continuing to handle the funds associated with QAACC.
Our AGM was held in November with all positions remaining unchanged from last year with Chairperson being
John Lane and the Secretary, Anita Lloyd Jones.
Membership continues to be strong with XX of active coaches joining again this year. Membership with
QAACC is a check to ensure that coaches are fully insured and that blue cards are current.
Meetings continue to be difficult to set with most coaches being unable to commit the time to attend meetings
outside their busy schedules. We have been able to keep information circulating by way of Email. We used
Email to accept nominations and vote on our Coaches Encouragement award for 2013. Fleur Garbellotto was
chosen and was presented with the trophy at the opening ceremony for the State Titles.
Accreditations:
The new accreditation processes were put to the test in June with an Advanced and Intermediate course being
run over 2 weekends in June. The presenters were Jodie Johnson-Garufo, Anita Hunt and John Lane. The
advanced course had 12 coaches upgrading and the Intermediate course had 8 new coaches in attendance. As
the process had never been used before, the presenters were a little apprehensive in the delivery and at times
were pushed for time. We will be making recommendations as to how the programs should be delivered.
Updating and Education:
Several coaches attended the seminars held this year. These seminars are a valuable source of information and it
was encouraging to see them supported by our coaches. We also conducted an Intermediate General Principles
course in May with 14 coaches attending. Several of our coaches are currently in the updating process to move
to the advanced level after completing the course held in June
John Lane
Chairperson
QAACC
Skate NSW AAC Report 2013
The Year to Date
Skate NSW hosted a successful Nationals at the Whitlam Centre in Liverpool in 2012, a great opening show
was performed by the Team Skatel Club. This was held early in July due to Worlds being held in Auckland in
October 2012, so a very busy year for Coaches, Skaters and Officials.
2013 also saw Oceanias held once again at the Whitlam Centre in April and by all reports Skaters and Coaches
were very pleased with the Venue and results. This competition saw skaters from China competing and Gawaine
Davis was responsible organising this. He also coached the Dance skaters at the competition. Robert Karp
(coach Esther Ambrus Davis ) attended the German Cup well done Robert. Nicole Wilkes and Esther are also
coaching a small showgroup with the intention of representing Australia at Worlds as they did in 2012.
We welcomed two new Artistic Clubs to NSW this year, Wheels Roller Skating Club and Silver City, both clubs
bring Accredited Coaches and Officials.
Silver City (Broken Hill) Coach Marie White. Wheels Roller Skating Club (Sefton, Menai) Coaches Debbie
Simms, Andrew Simms.
Team Skatel (3) and Wheels Roller Skating Club(1) both held competitions this year with all levels covered as
a lead up to Nationals.
Proficiency Tests were run by Team Skatel for all clubs (Bronze and Silver) at the beginning of the year and
another planned for early November.
Skate NSW looks forward to a Productive and Successful year in 2014 with our numbers growing in all areas.
Accredited Coaches in NSW.
Esther Ambrus-Davis
Gawaine Davis
David Robertson
Debbie Simms
Andrew Simms
Gordon Homes
Brad Mc Donald
Nicole Wilkes
Yvette Colonna-Morrow
Stacey Short
Kerrie Curtis
Chris Stuart
Amy Fell
Kathryn Christensen
Shaun Farlow
Lyndsay MacKenzie
Teagan MacKenzie
With Gratitude
Our State Championships were held in June and from all Skaters and Coaches a huge thank you to Alan
Wehlow for his attendance and officiating skills.
Thank you to NSW SDO Gawaine Davis, Art VP Len Karp and CAOC Andrew Simms for all their hard work
throughout 2013.
I would also like to mention how hard our group of volunteers have worked this year without you all our
competitions would not have run as smoothly as they did, you are all very much appreciated.
Barry, you have dedicated a huge amount of your time and expertise to our sport and from all the Coaches and
Skaters in NSW a huge thank you.
Good luck to all our NSW Skaters attending Nationals this year.
Kerrie Curtis
NSW Coaches Chair.
Email [email protected]
21st July 2013
AACC SA ANNUAL REPORT 2013
I would like to thank our outgoing chairman Charmaine Bond for the work she did during her term in the
position and am happy to be back in the role to serve our existing and new coaches.
I am pleased to say we have moved most of our coaches over to the new accreditations and are finding the new
process a lot easier, thanks Barry for all your hard work in this area.
We now have the following coaches in our state
Elite Level
Charmaine Bond
Advanced Level
Tammy Bryant
Intermediate Level
Sarah Watson
Kym Griffiths
Cathy Ward
I’m very pleased to say we currently have six new coaches progressing through to their first Development
Level, two are longstanding coaches/members of Skate Australia but had yet to formalize their coaching and
three are new skaters moving into coaching, I look forward to working with our new coaches and hope they will
all have succeeded to their first level by the end of this skating year.
I have recently been notified that a former coach of the Mildura Club has moved to Adelaide and we are hoping
to utilise her knowledge in one of our existing clubs, it’s always great to have coaches from the past rejoin the
sport.
I ask that this report be accepted.
Sarah Watson
AACC – SA
AACC VICTORIA REPORT 2013
2013 with Debbie Kokonis having another year in her term as AACC Chair Rachael Sketcher
nominated for the role of Development officer within the ASVI Committee. This has provided a good
opportunity for the AACC Vic to work closely with the Branch.
The major event for the year provided Free and Figures skaters with the opportunity to work with an
International coach (Cristina Moretti). This was a follow up from the seminar that Jayson had organised the
previous year. At the same time Dance skaters had an opportunity to work with Gwaine Davis. There were over
70 participants for this event which was supported financially by ASVI to ensure it was affordable for skaters to
attend.
This was also an opportunity for coaches to be part of the learning process. 12 coaches participated in all or
parts of the seminar. It still appears that the more ‘senior’ coaches recognise the value of such learning
opportunities more so than those with less experience. Once our mentoring program is established it is hoped
this will engage some of the junior coaches in developing their skills.
A second seminar was aimed at the Elementary level skaters which was well received. There are plans to hold
further seminars.
12 people have undertaken the Beginning Coaching course. It was a good opportunity to trial the course and
provide feedback to the AACC. All participants are currently completing their supervised hours.
Since the new Accreditation program was approved we have been encouraging coaches to undertake their
General Principles as a starting point to gain their Advanced Accreditation. Rachael Sketcher gained her
Advanced accreditation in 2012 .However most coaches were slow to undertake the course and are frustrated
now by the slowness of the documents being returned. AACC Victoria initially stated that it would be a
prerequisite for coaches to have their General Principles prior to a course being held. However given the time
frames and interest by 7 dance coaches to undertake the dance modules of the Advanced course, Martin Hass
agreed to work with these coaches to complete their accreditation.
To date Shelley Haughey has achieved her Advanced accreditation though a mixture of RPL and course work.
Candace Harrison has completed all aspects of the course while Brad Fraumano, Seona Martin and Christine
Turner have completed all the elements of the course but are waiting on receipt of their GP certificate. There are
3 other coaches who have completed all aspects of the course except for their practical hours. Martin will
continue to work with them to complete their coaching requirements. It will however enable them to be in the
marshaling area without a mentor.
We are also pleased that both Debbie Kokonis and Martin Hass have had their applications for Elite coaching
approved. Congratulations also go to Jayson Sutcliffe whose RPL application for Elite level has also been
approved.
In relation to mentoring Debbie, Martin, Jayson and Rachael have been approved as mentors. If the rules are
strictly applied in relation to the experience requirements to be a mentor Victoria would have difficulty in
providing sufficient mentors to cover each rink. We would therefore like to see a system whereby newly
accredited Advanced level coaches who have had more than 4 years coaching experience are able to mentor
Beginning and Intermediate level coaches and in turn be mentored in this role.
Pam Young Secretary for AACC Vic
On behalf of Debbie Kokonis AACC Chair Vic
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN ARTISTIC COACHES CHAIR REPORT - 2013
Our skating year began with Nov. 17th ,2012, fitness and conditioning seminar. It was only a
short ,3 hour, but intense seminar. The emphasis was aimed at getting athletes to train up to
and “elite” level.
The next event was the “Gaston Pasini” camp, May 3-5, for coaches and skaters and was well
attended. Gaston is an Argentinian world class artistic skater/coach. It was interesting to get
a perspective on coaching/skating from a leading figure from a country where skating is a
MAJOR sport.
His sessions all started with a physical conditioning routine, followed by actual lessons in
skating skills, mostly allied to artistic in the Dance area.
Our thanks go to Rachel Tonkin (chief organiser), Michele Wollens and the Kalamunda
Cobra’s committee who organised/masterminded the event.
The Skate Australia “skatestars” teaching syllabus (for beginner skaters) began early this
year. This syllabus requires teaching in all fundamental skills irrespective of skate type.
This also seemed to spark interest in coaching, and with 8 trainee requests, Barry Andrews
had to set up a course day. This was achieved on July 14 th, with 8 trainees and about 23
students, mostly culled from “skatestar” classes.
We now have 7 trainees working to attain Development status ( have had 1 qualify so far),
along with some old system coaches doing their General Principles.
New accreditations, so far.
Michele Wollens
Elite
Jazmin Hansom
Intermediate
Toni King
Development
I would like to thank Rachel Tonkin, who started as chair person but had to resign for
personal reasons, Barry Andrews for help and advice and all the other coaches for their
support.
Thanks
Bill (E.Carfax-) Foster
([email protected] )
Report for AAC AGM August 2013
High Performance Coach
___________________________________________________________________
Following up from the report presented at the Semi-Annual AGM, where some focus areas had been
identified.
Fitness:
The fitness testing in 2012 took place across 5 settings. The initial (fully funded option) for skaters
selected in the World Team occurred on the final Saturday of Nationals in Sydney. This was followed
up with 4 separate state-based testing centres across 3 weekends --> in Sydney (through Rugby
NSW), Brisbane (through UQ), Perth (through Rugby WA) and Melbourne (through VIS). These state
based testing provided an alternate time for those unable to attend at Nationals due to coaching,
skating or other commitments. It also allowed potential future HP skaters to attend. These Oceania
selected skaters were assisted with funding in Brisbane and Perth centres by the State Artistic
Associations.
This developed areas of focus for HP which guided the program through the beginning of 2013.
Development and compilation of statistics as to current and future fitness levels of our HP
athletes.
o Results were compiled and presented within the Semi-Annual report. Areas of significant
difficulty and future focus included strength (predominantly core), endurance and general
physical health.
o Pending availability of funding to run follow-up testing, this will continue to be tracked and
analysed.
o This would be addressed through the proposed program for 2013-2015.
Development of a benchmark standard level of fitness which benefits on-skate performance
(ie. developing a better understanding of the comparative benefits of off-skate fitness to
onskate performance).
o This would require ongoing testing and statistical analysis of the data. I would strongly
recommend testing to be available to athletes at least once per year (formally) which
would enable continued data gathering and monitoring. Additional data would be able to
be gathered via the proposed program for 2013-2015.
Continuing to support and develop the off-skate fitness of our current and up and coming
International athletes.
o Two skaters have taken up the opportunity to have direct support from HPC to
develop/input into their fitness programs targeted identified areas of difficulty from the
fitness testing. Following Worlds 2012 I have been able to work with an up and coming
skater and her coaches in developing fitness programs to assist her with core strength, her
specific areas of weakness as identified in the fitness testing, recovery strategies and
nutrition. She has since reported decreased incidence of injury. The second skater has only
recently begun the implementation of the fitness program but has reported the exercises
to be beneficial. This is a support available to all identified HP skaters.
o Indirect support was provided through funded Strengthening Education sessions in Victoria
(adjoined to their artistic seminar – through VIS), Queensland (UQSport), New South Wales
(Cronulla Sharks S&C) and Western Australia (RugbyWA). More information regarding this
will be provided later in the report.
o Additional indirect support was provided by assisting the AAC in the organisation of
education sessions in the areas of nutrition and competition psychology at Oceania.
Coaching accreditations:
As part of the re-write of the coaching accreditations, there has been the inclusion of a fitness
component in each level. This has both a practical and theory component and a resource focussing
on fitness in skating has been developed to support education and provision of these sections. A
fitness manual has been developed to support the implementation of this section of the
accreditation. This resource provides information regarding best practice and relevance to skating in
areas of endurance, power, strength, flexibility, agility and balance. It also summarises basic
information of warm up, cool down and recovery as well as provides some example Strength and
Conditioning programs as developed following the fitness testing. Thank you to the Qld skaters who
made themselves available for the photo shoots to support this resource. This resource should be
launched for Nationals 2013.
Education & Resource Development:
Fitness education sessions:
Strengthening Education sessions in Victoria (adjoined to their artistic seminar – through VIS),
Queensland (UQSport), New South Wales (Cronulla Sharks S&C) and Western Australia (RugbyWA)
were run throughout the first half of 2013. This was available to skaters at limited cost. Each state
had a slightly different format based upon number of skaters attending, however all focussed upon
strengthening (particularly core). Some states opened this up to skaters outside the HP group on an
increased cost. There was varying numbers of participation and also varying feedback on the
effectiveness of the sessions.
Numbers for participation were as follows:
Victoria – unknown
NSW – 6 HP skaters
WA – 1 HP Skater, 1 coach
QLD – 16 HP skaters, 16 non-HP skaters, 10 coaches
Selected feedback was as follows:
“There was about an hour of theory, and half an hour of time in the gym learning how to use
medicine balls, steps to jump up onto, bosu boards, exercise balls etc... Most of it was just
demonstration though - more time in the gym getting personal instruction would have been
beneficial…. I'm going to talk to our coaches about getting more off-skates / cross-training
happening at the rink - I can see how beneficial it is to work other muscle groups.”
“The additional area of focus on recovery techniques was very useful. Also, getting different
ways of modifying exercises for the level of the athlete, and haven’t key things to look for to
identify areas of difficulty was good.”
“The presentation went for about 20 minutes in total and there was not much that could have
been beneficial for the skaters. We had about 10 minutes at the gym with him showing us
examples of exercises I could do under certain conditions, but it appeared that there was
nothing specifically prepared for the skater to do”
This feedback is useful as it helps to focus the support provided to skaters as well as identifying the
suitability of the presenter in their understanding of adapting the presentation to Artistic Roller
Skating. In the case identified above, an alternate future presenter has been identified.
One state only had one skater attend, however despite contact with the State to identify suitable
dates prior to the sessions organisation and utilising a date as recommended, I was advised after the
fact that it was on the same day as a proficiency test. Also, I was advised after the session, that Skate
WA had recently run a similar session. This re-identifies the need for consistent communication
between the States and HP to ensure effective, targeted use of resources.
Recovery strategies:
Basic outline handouts on recovery strategies (best practice) have been developed and will be made
available via Barry’s website. Additional, similar handouts will also be developed as required.
Literature review – Warm up current best practice:
A literature review was completed to identify current best practice in regards to warm up
techniques/times/lengths etc to support the identification of required resources or space which
should be provided at major championships. This was provided to Kathleen McPhail for her
reference and distribution as required. This document will also be added to Barry’s website in the
future.
Data development:
A final area of focus is continued development of resources, information, and statistics specifically
relevant to Australian skaters. Feedback from an Australian Coach identified a recommended area of
focus as:
“Conduct research among universities around the country with the intention to use their
programs to help high performance athletes.”
Links have been made with the Exercise Science department at University of Queensland. They have
advised that when a suitable student is available there may be the option for some formal research
to be conducted.
Proposed 2013-2015 Plan:
The need for a formal HP program and plan has been identified to ensure that the relevant and
appropriate skaters are identified and supported. It has been difficult to implement specific
strategies without having specific skaters identified. This program is currently in development. It
aims to allow the skaters to be identified and formally included in a HP program which will ensure
that support is targeted to the needs of the identified skaters. This also enables formal talent
identification of Cadet/Youth skaters which will allow early inclusion and development of these
skaters prior to entering the World Class arena.
The program proposes to include up-skilling individual coaches as to the Fitness testing protocols to
allow regular testing and feedback for minimal cost to the skater and to HP. This will allow the
individual coaches to identify where the athlete is currently in regards to relevant areas of fitness
which would impact upon their training program as well as supporting the focus on HP athletes
performing as elite athletes. This could then be supplemented by one session per year of formal
testing (pending available funding).
General feedback from an Australian Coach regarding their recommendations for supporting our
future skaters identified a couple of areas:
“High performance coaches should be considering as potential tutors, trainers in camp
developments and seminars around the country. We do have excellent coaches in different
areas that can work together providing feedback to other States.”
This is a focal point within the proposed program by re-introducing Support Coaches. However, I am
proposing the use of Specialist Support Coaches (Dance, Figures, Freeskate, Precision/Show) rather
than State-Based coaches. I feel this will allow a more targeted approach that is specific to each
discipline and utilises the expertise of our high level coaches to assist in the development of skaters
and upcoming coaches effectively. This will also recommence discipline specific focus on
development of skill and technique as part of the overall athlete development.
In closing…
As always I am open to suggestions or recommendations from coaches or skaters as to areas in
which additional support would be beneficial. I have found the role of HP Coach to be challenging
due to the lack of formal structure provided, however have utilised these two years to primarily
identify areas which would benefit for ongoing support in the future. I believe the implementation of
a formal plan will greatly benefit the efficiency and effectiveness with which HP programs can be
implemented. I’d like to thank Kathleen McPhail and Pat Wallace for their input and support.
Anita Hunt
High Performance Coach